Story Published:
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:57 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:57 PM PDT
Willie Donerson is in a situation similar to the one when he first took over the Dominguez High School football program.
Nearly three decades ago it was pretty much rock bottom when he took over.
He slowly but surely built it up into one of the premier programs in Southern California.
In addition to the three CIF Southern Section championships his teams won, Dominguez produced numerous college and some pros (Kevin Burnett of the San Diego Chargers is a Dominguez alum) in the 26 years he has been coach.
He even had to come out of retirement last year and take over in game six when the current coach suddenly resigned.
Because of the uncertainty, there’s been an erosion of talent. Donerson pointed out a number of one-time Dominguez players now playing prominent roles at other schools in the area.
The Dons were only 2-8 a year ago and are 1-4 so far this season. Still, not is all bleak, according to the veteran coach, who also has his son, Keith, on the staff.
“We only have four kids still here who were freshmen four years ago,” Donerson noted following Saturday’s 31-21 San Gabriel Valley League loss to Warren. “When I came back in week six last year, it was a tough situation. We’re going to try and ride it out. It’s going to be better next year.”
He noted the lack of Division I college talent on the current roster.
“In my 26 years here, we’ve always had three, four, five Division I players every year,” he said.
Another adjustment Donerson has been forced to make is on offense where his favored double wing-T has been scrapped for a spread attack that emphasizes more passing.
“We just don’t the size to run the wing-T,” he said.
Because of the lack of superstars, he’s satisfied with the effort he’s been receiving.
“I’m happy with the way the kids have been playing,” he said.
Against defending league champion Warren (5-1), the Dons gave the visitors all they could handle for a half.
They contained super tailback Jesse Callier as well as any team for a while and led, 21-7 thanks to a 21-point, second-quarter outburst that took only three minutes.
Chris Brown (13 of 21 for 122 yards) threw a 35-yard scoring pass to Aaron Williams, Will Gregory returned a fumble 48 yards for a score and Brown connected with John Bell on a nine-yard pass during the second period for Dominguez.
Callier, held to 26 yards on seven carries to that point, broke off a 61-yard scoring run and would finish with 249 yards and three TDs on 33 carries.
“Callier is a great back,” Donerson said. “You can’t hold him down forever. We did our best, but just ran out of gas.”
Warren coach Chris Benadom praised the defensive effort of the Dons.
“Dominguez always plays good defense,” he said. “They were making it tough on Jesse by putting guys in the gaps. In the second half, we made adjustments with our blocking schemes.”
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